Phony phone calls for fake fraud

A student received phone calls from a woman who told her that she needed to call her back because the student was a suspect in a fraud case.

A University of Arizona Police Department officer met with the student on Nov. 9 at about 1:51 p.m. at the Veterinary Science and Microbiology building to speak to her about the harassing phone calls. The student said that the woman, who identified herself as Susan Jones, was calling her and accusing her of being a suspect of fraud. She told the student she wanted her to get an attorney and call her back. The student told the officer that Jones first called her on Nov. 5 and kept calling her every day until Nov. 8.

The student got more upset when the calls at her office number at the Veterinary Science and Microbiology building did not stop. Two messages were left on her voicemail at work. The voicemails warned the student that if she did not call the woman back, she would call the police and have them arrest her.

The student gave the officer the phone number she had been called from. The officer called the number back and spoke with a man who would not identify himself. He claimed that the reason he was calling the student was because Jones suspected the student had committed a fraud against her. The student said she was never involved in any fraud.

The man told the officer that his office was in Tampa, Fla., where he worked together with Jones, and that there was a bad reception on the telephone. The man hung up before giving the officer any details of the fraud. The officer called back within seconds, but the man hurriedly said Jones would call him back soon.

Once the officer got back to the UAPD station, he called the phone number back. The man answered and told the officer that Jones would contact him once she was available. After two hours, when neither of them called back, the officer called the same phone number again and it was no longer in service.

The student said she had no idea how her phone number and work number were obtained by the man or Jones. She also said she didn’t have any problems with any of her bank accounts being accessed without her permission.

The officer ran a check on the phone number associated with Jones and the man, and it returned as an area code from New York, not from Tampa. The student told the officer she wanted to document the calls and have them stopped.  

Cable lock users clearly don’t read Police Beat

A student had his bicycle stolen sometime between 2 and 3:15 p.m. on Nov. 9.

He reported it, and spoke to a UAPD officer of the details. He said he locked his bicycle to the first row of the bicycle racks on the north side of the César E. Chávez building.

It was a mountain bike, and red and orange in color. He had new chains and tires on the bicycle.

The student said he had locked it with a cable lock, which went through the frame and front tire of the bike. He could not provide a serial number. The bicycle was not registered with Parking and Transportation Services. There are no suspects or witnesses.

That’s one way to get a ride home

A UAPD officer assisted Tucson Fire Department with a woman who fell off her bicycle on Nov. 9 at 4:52 p.m.

The woman hit her head on the pavement and suffered a minor cut to the back of her head. She was transported to her home at her own request, after paramedics from TFD assessed that the cut did not require stitching.

The officer drove the woman to her residence and her bicycle was placed into safekeeping at UAPD.

Bare down to his birthday suit

A man was arrested for being a minor in possession of alcohol on Nov. 7. He was cited and released after being caught walking around the outside of Apache-Santa Cruz Residence Hall completely naked.

At 2:34 a.m., an officer went to the area and met with a student who told him that he saw the man walking around in the nude. The student said that he and a friend both saw him walking alongside the east side of La Paz Residence Hall. He called the police while two of his friends saw the naked man walk over to a group of individuals sitting at a bench by the basketball courts. He put his clothes back on once he reached the bench.

The officer approached the man as he started to walk away from the bench, with his clothing now back on. The witness confirmed that it was the man he had seen naked.

The man denied walking around naked, yet both of the other two students said they were “”100 percent sure”” he was the man they saw. They added that they saw his penis, but declined to press charges.

The man denied walking down the sidewalk naked and said he was just in the area visiting a friend. While he talked with the officer, the smell of alcohol was coming from his breath. He denied drinking alcohol, but a blood aclohol content breath test showed a positive presence of alcohol.

The man was arrested for minor in possession of alcohol in body. He was warned about his behavior and was released. Police said that although the man would not confirm the officer’s suspicions, he believes the man was getting naked as part of a dare from his friends that were sitting on the bench.